The Secret
by annwitch
Summary: Lois and Clark are partnered up on an article, and Lex Luthor plans the downfall of Superman. Somehow, these events all tie together. SR based, but slightly AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Superman or anything affiliated with him. Except for a wall calendar and two seasons of Smallville.

**A/N:** This is actually the first fanfiction I have ever written; its been stored on my computer ever since July. More specifically, this is the first story I have written in probably 5 years (I've had a huge writer's block). I haven't had a clue on how to add to it, but then I decided to just post it and maybe a continuation will come. Slightly AU SR-- no Richard or Jason, but it does mention some elements from the movie.

* * *

"Clark, Perry wants you in his office, now," Jimmy said as he passed by Clark's desk. 

Clark looked at the clock and sighed. It was almost lunch, and Clark needed some food to fill his massive six foot four frame. But, work comes first, and the reporter should never keep the editor-in-chief waiting. So with one last, longing look at the clock, Clark Kent stood up and made his way over to the private office of Perry White.

When Clark arrived at the office, he found Perry and the beautiful Lois Lane waiting for his arrival. Clark felt a faint blush rise on his cheeks as he sat down next to Lois, his not-so-secret crush.

"So, um, Perry. What do you need us for?" Clark asked, almost stumbling over the sentence.

"Well, as you both know, Superman is back and Lex Luthor is out of prison and on the rise. Problem is, we don't know where either of them are. Lois, I want you to find out what really happened between Lex and Superman, because you are the number one reporter the Daily Planet has. Also, you always seem to attract those two to you like flies. Clark, you're her accomplice because trouble seems to follow Lois everywhere and you seem like you'd be able to stop it. Oh, and you're a pretty good reporter too," Perry White said as he looked at his two reporters. "Is that okay with you?"

Clark looked over at Lois, who seemed to be mad with the assignment. "Fine Perry. That's just fine with me," Lois said in thinly veiled anger. She stormed out the door, almost knocking over her chair when she stood.

"That's fine with me too, Perry," Clark stuttered, as he followed Lois out to the maze of desks where they both worked.

Clark followed Lois to her desk, where she sat down in a huff onto her gray office swivel chair.

"Who does he think he is? I've done Superman before! I want something new! And a babysitter? No offense, Clark, but I'm old enough to take care of myself. I don't need someone to look after me," Lois said angrily to Clark as she gesticulated wildly.

"Yeah, um, I feel sort of weird being your bodyguard. I wish that I could actually get a _real_ story, not just a tossed aside one or helping someone with one," Clark confessed to Lois. "Sometimes I feel like Perry doesn't trust me with a major story."

"Well, yeah, I guess he doesn't trust you, seeing how you dropped the ball on that blackout story," Lois chuckled at him.

Clark grimaced, remembering his folly. "I guess he does have a reason not to trust me. Oh, and, since we're working on this Superman, Lex Luthor story together, do you want to grab a bite sometime? To talk about the story, of course," Clark said self-consciously.

Lois smiled. "Sure. Let's say, tomorrow, at lunch? We can go to that café down on First Street."

"Sure, that sounds good," Clark answered. Suddenly, the thought of lunch reminded him of something. "Uh, Lois, I have to go. Its um, kind of urgent," he said as he felt his stomach rumble with hunger.

"Its okay Clark. I can tell you're hungry. We can talk about the story later," Lois said kindly.

Clark grinned and walked away, to find something to eat.

------

Fifteen minutes later, Clark found himself eating at a sandwich shop located on the first floor of the Daily Planet building where he worked. As he bit off a generous portion of the pastrami sandwich he ordered, the television mounted on the wall caught his eye.

"…An apartment building is about to collapse. People at the scene are saying that there is a family still trapped on the tenth floor…" the news anchor droned on but Clark wasn't listening. Instead, he got up, took one last longing look at his half-eaten sandwich, and quickly made his way over to a deserted phone booth across the street.

To his dismay, the phone booth wasn't actually a booth as much as a stall. Clark quickly looked around and spotted a dark, deserted alleyway popular in Metropolis. He quickly walked down the alley, making sure he was hidden from casual passer-bys.

Moments after Clark had entered the alley, Superman emerged, ready to fight crime and thwart evil. He quickly flew high into the air; causing most people on the street to stare and point at the superhero. Superman flew even higher up into the sky, where he listened for a cry of help- any cry.

"Help! Help us! Its going to collapse!"

It was what he was waiting for. Superman flew as fast as he could-breaking the sound barrier- towards the plea. Soon he came upon a crumbling building surrounded by firefighters, paramedics, reporters, and the ever-present onlookers.

"This must be the one," he thought to himself grimly, as he used his super hearing once again to pinpoint exactly where they were coming from.

"Help! Oh God, oh God! I'm gonna die!"

It was coming from the middle apartment on the tenth floor. Quickly, he surveyed the building with his X-ray vision and located where the building was most weak. Which, as it turned out, was basically everywhere.

"This isn't going to be easy," he thought to himself as he flew towards the decrepit building. Quickly he broke through the window of the apartment where the family was held, and met a chorus of surprised gasps, and then heart-felt thanks. He smiled, and then quickly surveyed the place.

The building was too weak to support itself, and he could not hold the whole family at once. But then- he spotted a large bed in the corner of the room.

"Everyone, get on the bed. And hold on tight," Superman said as he was formulating his plan.

The family quickly complied, barely squeezing the parents and four kids on the queen-sized bed. Superman lifted the bed up, and flew towards the wall, breaking it with one strong kick before the bed had a chance to touch it. Superman and the stunned family escaped from the building in the nick of time- immediately after their escape the building collapsed, causing a rush of debris travel down the street.

As soon as the debris settled, Superman set the family down on the street next to an ambulance, gave a quick nod to the crowd, and left.

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Please review ;) Thanks! 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Superman except for a few commerical products found just about anywhere.

**A/N:** Okay, so the last chapter was basically fluff. But don't worry- there's a lot more scheming in this chapter. ;) Oh, and a thank you to LostNSpace for reviewing my developing story!

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Meanwhile, back at the Daily Planet newsroom, the reporters were looking up at the television, watching Superman yet again save lives, and then fly away. One reporter, though, wasn't. Lois Lane instead looked at her clock, ever the professional, wondering when Clark was going to get back so they could start on their story. 

Suddenly, Clark rushed in through the door and walked quickly over to Lois's cubicle.

"Sorry I'm late getting back from lunch, but I was just so caught up in eating and--"

"Later, Clark. Superman just saved some people from a building collapse. We need to find out where he went after that so we can interview him," Lois said in an extremely matter-of-fact way.

Clark glanced over in the mirror that was on Lois's desk, and to his dismay he saw some paint chips and concrete stuck in his dark, mussed hair. He tried to brush them out discreetly, but Lois saw what he was doing.

"Clark, why do you have paint chips in your hair?"

"Oh, um, I banged my head against the wall, and some plaster fell on my head. I guess some stayed in my hair," Clark barely stuttered out under the investigative pry of Lois.

"Hm," Lois answered, grudgingly accepting the story. "Anyways, I think tonight we should do some background research on Lex Luthor and Superman. You know, their origins and stuff like that. Just to further acquaint the public to these two men."

"Yeah, Lois, that sounds like a good idea," Clark said nervously.

"I'll take Lex Luthor, because I need a change of scenery. I've done too many stories about Superman. If that's alright with you, of course," Lois asked Clark.

Clark breathed a small sigh of relief. "Yeah Lois, that's great."

As Lois Lane walked away, Clark was try to think what about Superman's past-his past-that he should include in the article.

------

At that moment, in a mansion that used to belong to an old widow, a bald man sat, scheming.

"Kitty, do you know what always gets in the way of my brilliant schemes of real estate grandeur?" Lex Luthor asked his girlfriend.

"Superman?" Kitty answered, not quite sure what this was leading to.

"Exactly Kitty. Now, what draws Superman to it more than anything else in the world?"

"Your plans for getting beachfront property by any means necessary," Kitty answered triumphantly, sure that she got the answer correct.

"NO! It is in fact, a person. A person we both know. And that person is Ms. Lois Lane, Daily Planet reporter extraordinaire. Whenever she's in trouble, there comes Superman with his silly red cape, rescuing her every time. It seems he has a little crush on him. So, the key to taking over the world, is to kill Superman. And the key to catching and killing Superman is who, Kitty?"

"Lois Lane," Kitty said, a light dawning on her.

"Exactly Kitty! So all we have to do is capture Ms. Lane, convince Superman to trade himself for her, and then kill him using my favorite substance in the world," Lex said evilly. "After that, nothing can stand between me and the world!"

"But Lex, where will you be able to get Lois Lane?" Kitty asked, a picture of innocence.

Lex Luthor glanced over at Kitty, an evil smile creeping onto his face. "Why, we go to the press, of course."

------

Later that day, Lois Lane found herself on the bitter end of a fruitless search for everything, anything about the villain Lex Luthor. Banging her elbow on her desk and sighing, she attracted some attention from her fellow reporters, and a confused-looking dark haired woman standing in the corner that seemed to be looking for something. The woman peered at her, and than gasped; an expression of delight came upon her face.

The woman, Kitty of course, hurried over to Lois and started speaking rapidly to her, "Oh my! I can't believe it! Its Lois Lane! The award-winning reporter!"

Lois was stunned for a moment, then asked, "And you are…?"

"Oh! I'm, um, Lana Ruthol. I'm an intern here," Kitty answered excitedly, but with a little hesitation. "I was just wondering, do you need anything? Coffee? Paper? I can get it for you."

Lois looked up at her with a sorry smile. "Well, if you can help me with this research, it would help me a lot."

Kitty looked over Lois's shoulder onto the computer screen. "Lex Luthor? Wh-why are you researching Lex Luthor? I-isn't he gone?" Kitty said nervously, thinking that perhaps Lois knew of Lex's plot to kidnap her.

Lois laughed. "Well, yeah. I'm just doing this article on him and Superman and what really happened between them at their last confrontation. But first I need some background info on Lex, seeing how Clark is doing Superman."

Kitty almost fainted with relief. "Clark?"

"Clark Kent. He's a reporter here too," Lois answered. "And he's the co writer of this piece. Well, he was assigned to be more like a babysitter, but I don't think any harm is going to come to me."

Kitty laughed nervously. "No. Of course not. Um, listen. I happen to know this guy who knows Lex, er, Mr. Luthor really well. If you want, I can set up an interview…?"

Lois let out a sigh of relief. "Can you? That would help me a ton. Do you think the interview could be tomorrow, during my lunch hour? At the café on First Street?"

"Sure, I guess I can arrange that," Kitty answered.

Lois smiled warmly at the disguised Kitty. "Thanks again."

Kitty smiled at Lois and then quickly walked into an empty elevator, pulled out a cell phone, and hit 1 on the speed dial. "Lex? Its Kitty. Up for an interview"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Once again, I don't own Superman. I wish I did, though. Because that would be cool.

**A/N:** What? No reviews for chapter two? Oh well, I'm still going to post a chapter a day, whether you like it or not. ;) But please review anyways!

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Lois, ecstatic that she finally has a lead to follow on the article, practically skipped over to Clark's desk, where he was playing-of all things-online poker. Seeing a shadow fall over his desk, he quickly switched over to a Superman fan site, displaying some stats-inaccurate stats-of the man of steel. Lois snorted, and then got right to the point. 

"Clark! I have great news! I just got an interview with this guy that knows Lex Luthor!"

Clark smiled. "That's great! When is it?"

Lois smiled sheepishly. "Well, I sort of scheduled it during our lunch meeting. I thought it would be good, because then we can think up twice as many questions to ask this guy, and get a really thorough background on this twisted guy."

Clark, bitter with disappointment but ever the mild-mannered guy, answered, "That's fine with me."

"Great. So, do you have anyone to interview about Superman, do you have enough on the Web, or what?" Lois asked.

Clark cleared his throat. "Well, there's all that information about him in all of your articles, and I've pretty much dissected those, and I'm pretty sure the Web can fill in all the blanks. Of course, I'm trying to get an interview with Superman himself, but that might not happen." Clark smiled at the inside joke to himself.

"Well, if you get an interview with him, be sure to tell me, okay? Because if you get an interview with him, we can kill two birds with one stone by getting both his background and the story between him and Lex," Lois said.

"Will do, Lois," Clark answered, and turned back to the computer, a small smile creeping up his lips.

------

Lex Luthor leaned back in his plush chair and started tapping his fingers, thinking. Kitty had told him some very interesting news indeed.

"On one hand, Lois Lane has walked right into my trap. But on the other, Lois Lane seems to have a bodyguard of sorts, that Clark Kent person. Kitty, what do our files have on Clark Kent?"

"Not much, Lex. Just that he's a reporter at the Daily Planet, and he grew up in Smallville. He arrived in Metropolis about 6 years ago. He's six foot three, and has brown hair. He also wears glasses. Big glasses," Kitty read from a computer screen in the corner.

Lex paused, then tapped his chin. "And what does it say about our red caped foe, exactly?"

Kitty stopped, and the clicked a few links and arrived on the file. "Ah, yes, he came to Metropolis approximately six years ago, when he rescued Ms. Lois Lane from a helicopter accident. He's about six foot four, and has brown hair. He came from the planet Krypton, and can be killed by the radioactive Kryptonite. Superman can fly faster than sound, jump about an eighth of a mile, run faster than a bullet, has heat vision, sonic hearing, x-ray vision, super strength, and is basically invulnerable," Kitty looked away from the screen. "But what does this have anything to do with Clark Kent?"

Lex Luthor looked out the window beside his desk. "It could be nothing, Kitty. But then again, it could be everything."

Kitty, extremely confused, shook her head. "Lex, what about the whole trapping Superman thing? What's your plan?"

He looked at her with cool eyes. "Simple. You and I show up at that," he spoke the word with disdain, "café, disguised of course- you can use that silly Lana Ruthol guise you used for arranging this interview, and I'll wear a wig or something. We'll ask her if she can go back to my place, because I have some pictures or something else that would interest a reporter about me. Then we'll lead her back here, along with that Clark Kent character, and tie them up. Of course, Lois will be allowed one phone call or fax or however she contacts Superman. Then, when Superman arrives, we'll tell him the only way to let Lois live is to give himself up. Of course, we'll have Lois somewhere else in the house, preferably in a lead-lined room so he cannot see inside. When he gives himself up- he will, as he so obviously has a crush on Ms. Lane- we shall lock him in a chamber filled with kryptonite, which will effectively destroy his powers. We will keep him in there however long it takes to kill him."

Kitty gave Lex a frightened look, and then timidly asked, "But what about that other guy? Clark Kent? What will you do with him?"

Lex smiled coldly. "Why, if he doesn't cooperate, we kill him of course. Make sure its in front of Ms. Lane, so its sort of a lesson to her. And if he cooperates," he said, in reply to Kitty's mouth opening as if to ask a question, "We'll add him as part of the deal, to make Superman a little more willing to cooperate. Why, having Clark Kent might actually help us instead of hinder us!"

Kitty wasn't so sure. "Lex, what if Clark is really strong? Like, maybe he can overpower us or something?"

"Why, that's why guns were invented. Its so the bigger man doesn't always triumph. That reminds me; Kitty, can you go check our ammunition and gun supply? I might have forgot to restock it after our last run in with the law."

"Lex, you don't forget anything," Kitty replied.

"I know."

------

The next morning, Clark arrived at the Daily Planet right on time, despite stopping a bank robbery just minutes before in England. As he stumbled from the elevator into the press room, he glanced at his watch to make sure he wasn't late.

"Phew, that took a little longer than I thought," he said to himself as he looked around, searching for Lois, "I wonder where she is?"

Clark walked over to his desk and sat down, then started typing up his background on Superman- which was quite easy, seeing how Clark is Superman. For ten minutes Clark was completely engrossed in the task that he didn't even notice Lois standing over his shoulder until she started reading aloud his work.

"'…Superman was born on the destroyed planet Krypton to his parents Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, who named him Kal-El…' Clark where did you find this stuff?" Lois asked.

Clark practically jumped out of his seat, surprised that Lois was there. "Oh, um, I found a website that had a bunch of information about Superman."

Lois smiled warmly. "That's great news! Hey, listen, do you have any questions to ask the guy that we're interviewing today? I have a bunch-I've been working all night on them-but I'd like to know if you have anything different than me."

Clark shuffled through some papers that were strewn about on the desk, looking for anything that could give him a good question- he, of course, completely forgot about writing questions for the interview. "Um, well, I wanted to ask him why Lex Luthor dislikes Superman so much, because, er, every time Lex tries one of his plans, they are always made so that Superman will die or something like that."

She nodded, "Yeah, that's a pretty good question. I'm not sure that this guy will know, though, because its not like he knows what's going on in Lex's mind, right?"

"Yeah, right," Clark said, embarrassed at his folly. "So, what are some of your questions?"

Lois looked down at a thick notepad, and flipped through a couple of pages. "Well, I have all the basic questions, 'Where did he grow up,' 'Who were his parents,' etcetera, but I also have a few questions about things like 'When did Lex stop being a law-abiding citizen,' and 'Where do you think Lex got his evil tendencies.' What do you think of those questions?"

Clark, deep in thought, looked up, startled. "Um, yeah, those are good questions." Clark noticed the TV mounted on the wall, which was currently displaying a hostage crisis in lower Metropolis. "Hey, Lois, I, er, have to go somewhere. Is it okay if we pick things up later?"

She sighed. "Fine Clark. But remember- we have that interview at lunch today. Don't forget!"

Clark, as he was walking quickly towards a deserted elevator, shouted over his shoulder, "Don't worry! I won't!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Superman. Yeah.

**A/N:** Chapter 4!!! Yay, almost done ;) And sorry for the lack of action so far, but in this chapter things will finally start getting interesting.

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As soon as Clark got back from rescuing the hostages, he quickly went into a phone booth and changed back into his Clark Kent clothes. Checking his watch, he realized he was late for the lunch interview. 

"Darn it!" he thought to himself as he walked quickly down to First Street, and then into the café where Lois Lane was waiting impatiently for him. Clark quickly walked over to the table, sat down, and then gave a sorry smile to Lois, who was looking at him with frustration in her eyes.

"Clark, you were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago! Where were you?" Lois asked angrily.

Clark grimaced and answered, "I had to be somewhere in lower Metropolis, and it took a little longer than I expected. I'm sorry."

Lois sighed and looked around. "Well, lucky for you because the guy the intern arranged for us to meet isn't here yet."

Clark looked confused. "Intern? But I thought Perry said he would never get another intern."

"Yeah, well, I guess he changed his mind," Lois said, still looking at the door.

Clark thought for a moment. "What was the intern's name, again?"

"Um, I think it was Lana Ruthol or something like that. Nice girl," Lois said, still trying to find a sign of the interviewee.

Suddenly the door to the café opened with a jingle, and in walked a confident man with red hair and a nervous woman with brown, curly hair. She looked around, and then spotted Lois and Clark sitting at the table in the back. She excitedly nudged the man with her elbow and whispered into his ear. He looked over at her with a roll of his eyes and a slight scowl. Then the woman led both of them over to the two reporters.

"Lois Lane! And you must be Clark Kent. I'm, er, Lana Ruthol. And this is the guy I was telling you about, um…"

"I'm Roger Becks," the disguised Lex Luthor said to Clark and Lois. "So, I hear that you want to learn about Lex Luthor?"

Clark peered at the two through his glasses, feeling some familiarity from them but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Lois, ever the dedicated reporter, ignored Clark's stares and got right down to business.

"So, welcome Roger, Lana. Do you want anything to eat or drink before we start this interview?" Lois asked the two inquiringly.

"No thanks. Listen, I have some pictures and documents I left at home which would be absolutely perfect for your article. Do you think maybe we can conduct the interview there, instead?" Lex asked, grinning broadly at the two reporters.

Lois gave a fleeting look to Clark, and then capped her pen. "Sure, Roger. Let's go, Clark."

Clark looked suspiciously at Lex, but then shook his head. "Alright Lois."

"Ms. Lane, Mr. Clark, Ms. Ruthol, follow me to my house. Its not far, we just have to take a short taxi ride."

As Lois and Clark stood up from the table, Clark leaned over to whisper to Lois. "I have a bad feeling about this. I don't think it's a good idea."

Lois just shrugged his comment off. "C'mon, it'll be fine! The worst that will happen is that he turns out to be some attention-seeker, with nothing he can add to our story."

"Sure," Clark thought. As they stepped out onto the curb, Lois desperately tried to flag down a taxi, to no avail. Seeing no other way, Clark whistled- loudly. So loudly that he drew stares from the people eating outside and from Lois, Lex, and Kitty.

"Um, I'm a good whistler," Clark said sheepishly.

Immediately a taxi pulled up to the curb, and the four piled in and headed off to the Luthor mansion, unbeknownst to Lois and Clark.

------

As soon as they arrived at the Luthor mansion, Clark got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach; worse than before. As the four of them were walking up the driveway to the front door, it got worse and worse until he knew something was up. But after a glance over at Lois, seeing her calm and almost happy, he decided that the feelings were nothing; perhaps just some bad eggs he had that morning.

Lex Luthor opened the door and gestured for everyone to go inside. He smiled at Lois, who looked at him odd. "What is there to smile about?" Lois asked herself. But she buried her suspicions and walked in along with Clark and the disguised Kitty.

As soon as all of them entered the foyer, the door closed. Clark looked around for a maid, a butler, anyone who could have closed it, but no one was standing near. Puzzled, he used his x-ray vision to see if there were any mechanics inside the heavy wooden door. To his surprise, a bolt lock was silently locking inside the door, insuring that no one could get in- or out.

Clark took another, closer look at Roger Becks. He seemed familiar- too familiar. But Clark had never met anyone with that mop of red hair on their head.

Suddenly it dawned on him- that so-called Roger was not a red-head at all! Why, without the red hair, he looked exactly like Clark's nemesis- Lex Luthor. And looking him over once more, Clark was able to confirm that it was, in fact, the devious Lex Luthor.

Clark quickly looked at Lois, who was getting out her thick notepad and pen. He leaned down and whispered to her, "Lois, I have a really bad feeling about this guy. Really bad. I think maybe we should go."

Clark was hoping to alert her that the doors were locked, and so she could call the authorities on her cell phone. He didn't want to reveal to her that he was Superman. He wasn't ready for that. But Lois just ignored him and asked, "Roger, so, for my first question about Lex Luthor, where is he now?"

Lex Luthor smiled evilly. "Well, my dear Lois Lane, the award-winning journalist, you obviously aren't that intuitive, because if you were, than you would have realized I already have told you."

Lois looked aghast. "Wh-what? Clark, did you pick up on it?"

Clark looked at Lex with a fire in his eyes. "I didn't realize what you told us until a few minutes ago, after I got a better look at you."

"Wh-what are you talking about Clark?" Lois asked, scared.

"Ah, yes! The 'bodyguard' reporter pay more attention than the award-winner! How funny this is. But, since you're still so much in the dark, Lois, I guess I'll just tell you. You see, Lex Luthor lives in this very house," Lex coolly told Lois.

Lois stepped back in shock, looking wildly between Lex Luthor and Clark. "You-you're Lex Luthor! But I thought you were gone!"

"Finally! Finally you caught on. It took you long enough. Even with Clark there giving you hints- as that's what I suspect you were whispering to her about- and Kitty practically messing up the whole plan! Ruthol, really. Its just a switch between the first and last letters of my name!" Lex exclaimed. He started pacing around the foyer, looking at the two shocked reporters.

"What do you want, Lex?" Clark coldly asked, the Superman side taking hold of him.

"What do I want? I want the world! Everyone should know that by now. But why are you here? Its all part of my plot to kill Superman! And you two walked right into it," Lex said deviously.

"But neither of us is Superman. We don't even know where he is!" Lois exclaimed, looking around for a way out.

"But, my dear, you will help me. You see, I have been studying Superman, looking for his weaknesses. He doesn't have many, you know. One, of course, is kryptonite. But that never seems to work."

"And the other?" Clark asked faintly, knowing exactly what Lex Luthor was going to say.

"The other weakness is standing right in front of me, a Ms. Lois Lane," Lex said, looking at Lois.

"But-but, why? How?" Lois stammered.

"Its simple really. I have studied Superman enough to know that he has a gigantic crush on you. Its quite sweet, actually. But it always seems that whenever you are in trouble, he rescues you. You are the one that sees him the most, you know," Lex calmly explained to Lois.

"But what's that got to do with anything?" Clark asked for Lois, who was looking faint.

"Well, I let Ms. Lane there have one call to whomever she chooses- and it will be Superman. Of course, it could be the authorities but Superman has always picked up on their calls in the past, hasn't he? So Superman comes, and I hide you and Lois- providing you cooperate of course-in a lead-lined room that he cannot see into. Then I propose a trade; your lives for his. Of course he'll accept, and I shall lock him in a chamber filled with kryptonite until the radioactive rock kills him. Comprende?" Lex asked Clark.

Clark nodded, everything making perfect sense. "But what if I don't cooperate?" he asked.

"Why, I shoot you, you die, and it serves quite a lesson to Ms. Lane," Lex said, looking at Kitty. "Kitty, do you have my gun ready?"

Kitty, looking dejected in the corner, looked up. "Why, yes. Its right here," she said, holding up a handgun.

"Excellent," Lex said, and then turned his attention back over to Lois and Clark. "Now, any complaints? No? So follow me. And don't even think about trying to escape. I have this place locked up tighter than Fort Knox."

Lois and Clark looked at each other, and then grudgingly followed Lex Luthor down the hallway into a room- and, as Clark discovered after trying to use his x-ray vision, it was lead-lined.

Clark looked around for any way for them to escape- or even a place where he could disappear for a while so he can change into Superman without his secret identity being discovered. But his frantic search was futile. There was nowhere he could go to be alone. They were trapped.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Yeah, I don't own Superman.

**A/N:** Well, this is the final chapter that I've written of this story. I know, it ends on a cliffhanger, but I just had no idea what to do with it afterwards. I might pick up this story sometime in the future, but don't count on it. Anyways, enjoy! ;)

* * *

As soon as Lex and Kitty left the room, Clark turned to Lois. "C'mon Lois, we've got to break out of here. Help me break down this door!" he said, standing by the door and pushing it slightly. 

Lois sat on the ground, looking up at Clark with despair. "Don't, Clark. You'll get yourself killed! Lex Luthor doesn't kid around. He'll kill you, if we try to escape," she said, with tears in her eyes. "Its all my fault! If I just listened to you, or even if I just played it safe, we would never be in this mess. Argh!" Lois said as she hit the floor.

Clark walked over and knelt down by Lois. He held her chin up, looked into her eyes and said, "Lois, I promise that Lex won't kill me. I promise that nothing bad will happen."

He stood up, shook himself off, and then looked at the door, thinking. "So, I'm about six foot four, and I look pretty muscular- how much force would a normal guy like me have?" He quickly calculated it, and then took a few steps back for show- just to give the illusion that he was trying as hard as he could.

Clark then charged the door, using his shoulder as a battering ram. Even with the reserved strength, Clark still managed to knock the door down. As it fell with a loud bang, Clark winced, and then walked hurriedly back to Lois, where she was sitting on the ground with pure amazement on her face.

"Lois! C'mon! We don't have much time before Luthor comes!" Clark said, pulling Lois to her feet.

"How? How did you do that?" she asked, looking at Clark with a puzzled expression.

"I was wondering the same thing," Lex Luthor said, as he walked down the hall to the room, pointing the gun at Clark.

Clark looked around wildly, searching for an explanation. He couldn't reveal his secret in front of Lex! And Lois, for that matter. "Well, I work out at the gym sometimes…"

Lex stared coldly at him. "You work out? Did you happen to know that this door-" he pointed to the door now laying on the ground, "-is made so well, that no one short of a muscle-bound weight lifter can force it open."

Clark, his palms sweating, stammered out, "Well, um, I guess it could have been a fluke hit. I mean, I was running and maybe I hit it just right-"

Lex stopped Clark with a wave of his hand- the one with the gun. "No excuses, Clark. You didn't cooperate, and you know the consequences of not cooperating- it's the death penalty." Lex raised his gun and coldly pointed it at Clark's chest.

Clark's mind was racing. There was no way out of this without revealing his superpowers and his super secret. Except- wait! There was one possible way, if he rolled to the side and hopefully Lex was taken back enough that Clark could quickly, well, quick for a normal human, escape- maybe barge through a door again. That hadn't seem to pose many questions.

He crouched down and prepared to roll, when Lex fired his gun right at Clark's chest. For Clark, time seemed to slow to a point where he could easily dodge the bullet, but all he could think was "No, not here! Not in front of Lex! Or Lois!"

Because of his panic, he stayed frozen in place, not dodging the bullet. Lois watching in shock as the bullet traveled and hit Clark- and then flattened and bounced off harmlessly as if it were just a rubber ball. All eyes were on Clark as he huddled on the floor, looking at everyone with the eyes of someone who's secret was just found out.

Lex, who couldn't believe his eyes what just happened, decided to fire all of his bullets, just in case it was a fluke. And just like before, all of them bounced of harmlessly, with Clark just looking like his whole world was ultimately destroyed.

Except for one- which happened to travel to his face and destroy his glasses. The bullet continued onto his face and harmlessly bounced off. Clark- not realizing that his face was no longer hidden by his thick, black framed glasses- looked around desperately at both Lois and Lex, who were both looking at him with pure amazement written on both of their faces.

Lois took a tentative step towards him. "Clark! I've- I've never seen you without your glasses. You look almost like…" Lois trailed off, unable to comprehend the newly revealed facts.

Both Lex and Lois stared at Clark as he brought his hand up to his face, feeling the absence of his glasses. Clark's eyes widened in horror, as he realized that his alter ego was revealed to both his love and arch nemesis. The three stood in a stony silence, a shocked silence.

"Lex, what's happening? What's taking you so long to off that Clark Kent guy?" Kitty said as the walked into the room briskly, breaking the silence.

Lex shook his head, breaking his stare from Clark's face. "It seems that this 'Clark Kent guy,' as you so eloquently put it, is not who he seems."

Meanwhile, Lois was slowly approaching Clark, like someone trying to pet a strange dog. Her face was scrunched up in a question. "Clark? You-you're Superman? But- how?"

Clark's face reddened, and he smiled sheepishly. But then his eyes hardened, his mind remembering the situation at hand. "Lois, we have to get out of here! Quick, grab onto me!"

Lois was frozen in place, still unable to comprehend the situation. Clark, sensing that Lex Luthor was about to hurt Lois in some way, supersped over to Lois, grabbed her, and then crashed head first through the walls, breaking free of the poisonous mansion. He and Lois flew away, leaving a boggled Kitty and Lex in their wake.

"Did I see what I just thought I saw?" Kitty asked Lex, staring where Clark and Lois made their dramatic exit.

Lex, tapping his chin in though, broke into a devious grin. "Yes, Kitty. And I think we might finally have an ace up our sleeves."

------

Clark and Lois arrived on the roof of the Daily Planet building after a careful flight to make sure none saw Clark as Clark fly. He carefully set Lois on the ground, and then started to walk away.

"Wait!" Lois called after him, hand reaching out as if to pull him back.

Clark looked back, a steely yet sorrowful look on his face. "What is it, Lois?"

Lois looked at the ground, then looked back up to meet his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me? Tell everyone?"

"I didn't want to be stuck in one life. I didn't want to be a hero all the time- there would be too much pressure," Clark answered quietly.

"But why didn't you tell me?" Lois pressed.

"I wasn't ready," Clark said simply, before he took a few steps and then flew away, leaving a stunned Lois. But then after a few moments, he paused in the air, and then turned around and flew back to Lois. "Please don't tell anyone," he said before taking one last look at the reporter and then flying away.


End file.
